How has Wal-mart's Super-centers & Home Depot effected your shopping habits?

[OneBallBoi (imported)]

Hands down Wal*Mart is best place to shop, if Price is your critera. Wal*Mart has the best prices. But if you live on the other side of the table. Wal*Mart treats their vendors terrible. I was once on that side of the table. Wal*Mart expects you to give them the best price of anyone in the country and a lot lot more. Things I could tell you would make your ears turn purple. But as a customer, it is the best place to shop. And Wrangler jeans from Wal*Mart are the same jeans you'll find at every other more expensive store.

[Slammr (imported)]

It's been about eight years since I did much shopping at Home Depot, but for a month or so, while I was doing some extensive remodelling of a house, I was in my local Home Depot almost every day. They were extremely helpful. I thought they had excellent customer service. I was a novice at the repair work I was doing and found the salespeople at Home Depot quite knowledgeable.

I don't know that I've ever needed customer service at Walmart. I don't have one close by, so I don't go often, but when I have, it's been for the cheap prices not for their customer service.

[jane_says (imported)]

chilliwilli, our Wal-Mart still sells ammo, but each of the 3 times I've tried to buy it there, they were out of what I needed. The last time was Christmas Eve last year (nevermind!) and I decided not to try again.

Paolo: Do you buy meat there too (if you eat meat)? One of my biggest issues with W-M groceries is the label on the meats that say "may contain up to whatever-percent of a solution...." Blargh. I'm not terribly comfortable with dead animal flesh as it is, but even less so with some kind of bullshit added in.

[artisticlicense (imported)]

All the steam's out my backside now (ears too ). I re-read that posting and I thought I sounded rather snooty.

It must be a local thing, as for the employees and amount of "Customer-no-Service". I do live in a rather rural, and formerly very poor area. I moved here because of the mountains, scenery, and cost of land. No "chillun's" to care for,...just me and the mutt + 2 horses. I work from home, so location was not a factor. When I chose this place, I didn't mind driving 30+ miles for the things I was used to (night-life included). Cost-of-living has risen a lot since then.

The level of area intelligence gets to me sometimes. None of my neighbors have a high school education, and I'm used to "educated folks".

I've met (all 5) of my neighbors, down our long dirt road. First thing I discovered when I bought the place,...no mail delivery! (dropped at the Hwy, a mile from the closest house). I'm at the end of the road,...4 miles...talk about the Post Office NEXT,...(Kidding) {Someone else can start THAT} . It took a couple of weeks (and some begging) to convince everyone to sign the petition.

All had to agree to it.

All swore their taxes would go up!

I had to prove to them that they'd been paying for it all along.

I digress,...

I travel all over North Georgia for work, and have stopped into other Wally-worlds with 'goods' results. Got what-I-wanted-quick, saved-the-day.

I like a bargain as much as any other, but I am lucky to have a local "Mom-n-Pop" grocery chain still holding on. With prices mostly better than Wal-mart, I get all my meats there and most of my can-goods (cute in-house-butcher you can watch through the window). But, they are always closed on Sundays, and Wally-world is open around the clock.

I do like Wal-mart's Great Value Peanut Butter better than any other, and they do have a lot of common-named grocery, drug, and supplement equivalents that make subsistence easier.

[StefanIsMe (imported)]

Customer service sucks, you hear it all the time, and yet, in the trade magazines etc, we read all the time how this decade, the name of the game is improved service. I think the difference is due to where the quality in service lies. The print shop I work for is all about customer service; we have apartments kept up just for clients for press checks, loaded with excellent furniture, and our sales team absolutely bends over backwards to please clients. Shift bosses on the floor will bring in grandmas, grandkids, and the dog to do hand-work to get jobs out. However, the concept of customer service has been totally lost at places like walmart and Visions Electronics. But, what can you expect from mature workers expected to work for minimum wage, under at 19 year old boss?

Paolo, I was suprised to read that in a smaller town you have that big a price difference still between wallmart and the smaller shops. Scary...

I don't own a car anymore (by choice and because I can get away without one), so I couldn't drive to one anyway, but my town has a co-op hardware store and a small competitor (Canadian Lumber). Both have absolutely killer customer service, I always get somebody riight away who knows how to help. I did have to go to Rona (kinda a big-box hardware store) for some things when building the suite (tub, sinks, that sorta thing), but my main stuff I was able to get without them. I'm actually one block away from the lumber yard, so delivery to my basement was just 10 bucks .

I get the creeps in walmart, but if I had a family of any kind, I'd be screwed; I'd have to go to the best price, too. But I think the whole concept of Walmart is flawed, because it only feeds the chinese economy, not north americas, because thats where most of their products come from. It's a sure way to kill the economy; ship or facilitate the shipment of raw goods to a cheaper country, let them earn the profit of manufacturing and value-added work, then ship it back here and sell it cheap via underpaid north american employees, killing the price value of domestically produced goods. It's insane.

[stewie69 (imported)]

I haven't stepped foot in a Wal-Mart in years, and I have no intention of ever darkening their doorstep ever again. Their business and labor practices range from merely unethical to downright illegal. No company has done more to destroy fair competition, or has placed a greater burden on the American taxpayer, than Wal-Mart. (The information is readily available, for those not too blind to see it.)

As for Home Depot, I go there once in a great while, but I prefer Lowe's, if I need such things. Sadly, pretty much all independent hardware stores in my hometown are long gone, or I'd be shopping there.

[chilliwilli (imported)]

I haven't stepped foot in a Wal-Mart in years, and I have no intention of ever darkening their doorstep ever again. Their business and labor practices range from merely unethical to downright illegal. No company has done more to destroy fair competition, or has placed a greater burden on the American taxpayer, than Wal-Mart. (The information is readily available, for those not too blind to see it.)

As for Home Depot, I go there once in a great while, but I prefer Lowe's, if I need such things. Sadly, pretty much all independent hardware stores in my hometown are long gone, or I'd be shopping there.

I was down in LA helping bro with his place. His old sawzall was 4.0 amps, just two speeds probably twenty years old. It cost about $130.00 then (cause I have one also). Anyway, the blade lock on his was was fried. I finally got him to go to HD and buy a new one, otherwise I was gonna walk off the job. For $79.00 he got a rigid (homedepot brand) that has a quick release lock and pulls 11 amps....what a f'n rush. Instead of cutting metal all day I did the job in a couple hours...do the math!

You would be hard pressed to rehab a home today with just a little hardware store. I guess you could move to mexico. There you can build a house with a shovel, wheelburrow, and a trowel. You could have tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner. (I seriously love that place though, they have community, we work to f'n hard here). And bro got a great mexican woman outta the deal.

Anyway, if you think wal-mart is some great place, read about what thay put rubbermaid thru. WM created sterilite, a brand made of cheaper plastics that keeps you coming back.

I've been thru so much shit with this country that someone's right to a living wage is a nonissue for me and 21 million illegals can't be wrong. So what are the issues this election year again! Vote? Yeah right.

However, the environmental impact and long term effect of walmarts policies are something every consumer should ponder. WM goal is to turn every product into crap, something you buy multiple times in a lifetime.

It has taken me years to make my sisters better consumers. They look for quality and avoid buying crap now. (I pull maintainace on their stuff also though, furnishings, bikes, yard etc).

A dirty job for a dirty boy.

chilli-

[Blaise (imported)]

I haven't stepped foot in a Wal-Mart in years, and I have no intention of ever darkening their doorstep ever again. Their business and labor practices range from merely unethical to downright illegal. No company has done more to destroy fair competition, or has placed a greater burden on the American taxpayer, than Wal-Mart. (The information is readily available, for those not too blind to see it.)

As for Home Depot, I go there once in a great while, but I prefer Lowe's, if I need such things. Sadly, pretty much all independent hardware stores in my hometown are long gone, or I'd be shopping there.

I don't blame people for buying from Wal-Mart. I like a good price and I am a poor man. Within reason, the Walton family proposed something helpful but they took it to extreme with vendors and employees.

During the past decade and a half, I have bought two items from those people, a candy bar a few years ago and then not quite six years ago a massager that I could not find anywhere else.

The Walton family members are parasites who make those who shop with them parasites. I don’t begrudge them their wealth, but I do begrudge the way that they steal from workers, small business people, and even in the end from their customers.

The lie that the wealtest family in the world would like to provide for their workers but cannot afford to do that is outrageous. There are wealthy people who provide for the weal of all; the Walton clan is a den of thieves.

[gordon (imported)]

The Wal-Marts that I shop at have stopped selling firearms, but they still have ammunition. I understand it was strictly a marketing decision to discontinue selling firearms. True, their ammo selection is not very broad, but if you shoot a 30-06 or .270 they probably have what you need. I doubt my brother can buy ammunition for his .300 Remington SAUM at Wal-Mart.

[speedvogel (imported)]

Our local Wal-Mart is two miles from the house. In most cases the grocery stores in town give me no reason to buy from them. They've cut staff to the bone and both chains in town have lousy managers in their stores.

I have stopped using the Wal-Mart pharmacy account bad service. I now trade with a family owned pharmacy that is in a different city, but does deliver to our home at no charge. Since the co-pay on my insurance is exactly the same at either store, I opt for the better service.

My mother lives in Florida. She does her grocery shopping at Publix. Spotless stores, well managed and friendly helpful staff. Yes, she pays the highest prices in the area, but it is worth it.

I detest Home Depot. We havea Lowe's 2 1/2 miles from the house. In general, I deal with them for tools, building supplies and appliances.

For clothing, we travel to another city which is 25 miles away. There is a new shopping center there with very nice department stores and shops. Quality goods are worth the drive.

Everything else, internet baby!

Speed